Former Minneapolis Officer Kim Potter Found Guilty on Manslaughter Charges

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A jury found Kim Potter, the former Minnesota police officer who said she mistakenly thought her gun was a Taser, guilty on two manslaughter counts on Wednesday.

Potter, a former Brooklyn Center police officer, pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree manslaughter charges in connection to the death of Daunte Wright, which sparked protests and violent riots earlier this year. Potter said she mistakenly took her pistol for a Taser when she shot Wright in April.

The jury, comprised of six men and six women, spent over 26 hours deliberating before rendering the decision.

Potter, 49, will face a sentence of about seven years under state guidelines, though prosecutors have said they will seek more.

During closing arguments, prosecutors accused Potter of a โ€œblunder of epic proportionsโ€ in Wrightโ€™s death in an April 11 traffic stopโ€”but said a mistake was no defense.

But the former officerโ€™s attorneys countered that Wright, who was attempting to get away from officers as they sought to handcuff him for an outstanding warrant on a weapons charge, โ€œcaused the whole incident.โ€

Potter, who was not able to compose herself, last week took to the stand and testified that she โ€œdidnโ€™t want to hurt anybodyโ€ and that she was โ€œsorry it happened.โ€

This week, speculation emerged that the jury may be deadlocked after jurors asked Judge Regina Chu about reaching a consensus.

Bodycamera footage of the shooting was shown several times throughout the trial, showing Potter, who sounded distraught. โ€œOh my God!โ€ Potter later cried as another officer consoled her. โ€œHoly [expletive], I just shot him,โ€ sheโ€™s heard yelling.

The footage also showed Potter yelling โ€œTaserโ€ repeatedly before she shot Wright during the traffic stop.

Potterโ€™s defense lawyer, Earl Gray, told jurors that Potter had a clean record, was a โ€œgood cop,โ€ and is a โ€œlaw-abiding person.โ€

โ€œShe made a mistake, and, my gosh, a mistake is not a crime,โ€ Gray told jurors, according to live footage of the trial.

By Jack Phillips

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